MESA, Ariz. -- Manager Stephen Vogt was looking forward to getting his first look at Rhys Hoskins in a Guardians uniform. Clevelanders can certainly relate, and our first opportunity came on Friday.
Hoskins (who signed a Minor League deal with the Guardians on Monday) made his Cactus League debut in Friday’s 8-6 loss to the Cubs at Sloan Park. Donning No. 8 on the back of his navy jersey and rocking a high socks look, the 32-year-old hit third and served as Cleveland's designated hitter.
Hoskins went 0-for-2 with one walk and two strikeouts over three plate appearances.
Hoskins struck out in his first two trips to the plate, both on four pitches, against starter Edward Cabrera and Daniel Palencia in the first and fourth, respectively. He drew a walk in his third and final plate appearance, in a six-pitch sequence against right-hander Porter Hodge in the seventh.
Hoskins got ahead 3-0 facing Hodge, and then took a pair of strikes as the count ran full. Hodge came back with a 94.8 mph four-seam fastball low, which home-plate umpire Dexter Kelley called strike 3.
Hoskins, however, successfully challenged the call using the new Automated-Ball Strike Challenge System to draw the free pass. Afterward, the Guardians scored five times in the seventh to take a 5-3 lead.
“It’s good to see Rhys,” manager Stephen Vogt said. “The professional at-bat, we knew we were gonna get that. We saw that with the take on the 3-2 pitch that led to the [five-run] rally. It was just good to see him.
“He's been great for our guys in camp. Everybody's raving about having him. We're really happy he's in camp with us and excited to watch his Spring Training continue.”
The Guardians have encouraged their hitters and catchers to challenge calls often this spring as the club gets accustomed to the ABS system. Yes, it’s only Spring Training, but Hoskins’ successful challenge exemplifies how much of a difference-maker ABS can be. It not only changed the outcome of his plate appearance, but perhaps the inning.
“We're going to use the challenge in those situations,” Vogt said. “That's an at-bat flipping call, right? So that's what it's there for, and we're gonna continue to play with it."
Allen’s final WBC tune-up
Friday marked Logan Allen’s final start before he leaves Guardians camp to join Panama for the World Baseball Classic. The lefty threw 51 pitches (34 strikes) over three innings, in which he allowed two runs on three hits and two walks. Both tallies came on a Dansby Swanson two-run homer in the first.
“It felt really good,” Allen said. “Happy to get through three innings clean. Really feeling like I'm in a good spot. Everything's moving pretty good. So just excited to get out of here and go represent Panama. I’m feeling really good.”
Allen’s batterymate on Friday being Bo Naylor was rather fitting. Naylor is also competing in the Classic, for Canada -- which is part of Pool A alongside Panama. Allen said he and Naylor have been sharing some friendly trash talk ahead of the tournament.
Allen made three Cactus League starts before the Classic, and he’s set to stay on a five-day rotation while he’s with Panama. He expects his build-up to emulate what it would have looked like if he were in Guardians camp.
“[Panama has] done a great job of talking with the team here and making sure that everyone's on the same page,” Allen said. “I definitely really appreciate that, and I know they're going to be looking out for me. More than anything, I'm excited to go compete and ready to roll.”
Gaddis debuts
Hunter Gaddis made his first appearance of the Cactus League season on Friday, when he pitched a scoreless fourth inning in relief of Allen. Gaddis threw 11 pitches (seven strikes) and struck out Swanson swinging and Michael Busch looking. He got Matt Shaw to pop out in foul territory to end the inning.
“He picked up right where he left off,” said Vogt of Gaddis, who logged a 3.11 ERA in 73 appearances last season.